but no clear front runner. >> who among this body has the qualifications, the characteristics, the spiritual gifts to fulfill that chair? >> he chose half of the cardinals that will be his successor. he hopes there will be someone new by the end of march. >> pope benedict will go to a summer retreat after he resigns and then he will move to a monostair where he will dedicate the remainder of his life to prayer. 80 million americans call themselves catholic, but their numbers have been dwindling. some were proud of his decision, others were furious that he didn't do more about child sex abuse by priest. bruce, what did you find? >> among survivors of child sex abuse, there is a sense that pope benedict could have done far more, but among many

of the faithful, there is a pride in pope benedict and he remains really quite popular, even though he succeeded the wildly popular, john paul. >> it's very startling. unprepared for. >> cardinal whirl was with the pope in october and had no sign that the pontiff was struggling with his duty. >> he was in full possession. >> part of the conclave that will select the next pope. and he says he will be looking for continuity with the conservative teachings of benedict and john paul. >> there's a basic doctrine that is bedrock or catholic faith. >> but many american catholics are pushing for change, including david lawrence of bowie, who was abused by his priest and guidance counselor at a catholic high school.

>> at 16? >> by an adult priest. >> lauren says pope benedict offered comforting words. >> this pope has done nothing. >> but that he has failed to punish bishops for hiding abusive priests and for covering up the sexual abuse of children that is tearing the church apart. >> this thing is going to haunt them from now, for another thousand years until they stand up and address it and come clean. >> some catholic see the resignation as a sign of his greatness. >> it's an example of humility. we support him and i think the church is stronger than ever. >> among those attending mass at noon on a monday, a sense that continuity is a good thing. >> these are our leaders that said, here is what jesus taught us. >> he would at least consider picking the next pontiff, looking for a guy who has the youth and the energy to travel the globe to reach out to the

world's 1.2, nearly 1.2 billion catholics. he said there's a great value in experience and that, he says, of course comes with age. anita. >> there's a lot to be said for both. bruce leshan, thank you. news of pope benedict's res education in res resignation. the pope's visit left a lasting mark on the campus. >> he was himself, a university professor and that is something that means a lot to us. >> it filled me with sadness because pope benedict has been such an inspirational leader for the church. such a great mind. >> catholics were asked to pray for pope benedict during this week's mass. >> pope benedict became the leader of the roman catholic church. and he was elected by the college of cardinals april 19,

2005, he served for nearly eight years before announcing that resignation today and he'll officially step down february 28. and then the paper conclave gets together to choose his successor and that begins march 1. the selection process could take days or weeks. however, the church says it does expect to have a new pope in place by march 31. joining us now to talk about pope benedict's legacy and the top five picks to replace him, kathy grossman. thanks for joining us. a relatively short tenure. some suggest that's exactly what they wanted when they picked a man who was already 78 when he got the job. >> i think that they view him as a transitional pope. i think he was always a reluctant pope. i think he spent the first day of the conclave reportedly telling everybody he didn't want the job. but he was such a powerful voice on an issue that mattered a great deal to the cardinals. he had given an address during

the dangers of relativism and loss in belief of truth. for many cardinals, that was the heart of what they wanted to reach out to the world and tell them. there had to be absolute truth. they went with a man they knew. >> why do you think pope benedict did this differently? >> i don't know if it's a signal to be changed permanently, but medicine has changed a great deal. popes generally didn't live to this age. they died in their jobs. and now, the medicine has the ability to keep people going physicalically a lot longer than they may have the strength to do. >> let's talk about the five men who are on the big list here. cardinal leonardo, talk about him. >> the cardinals, there are three italians on that list and one from north america and one from canada and one from south

america. and so you have the representation for around the globe. i think south america is in contention because you are talking about a center of catholicism. north america, offer him an opportunity to say look, we did something really different. they aren't going to pick an american, while america is a superpower. they aren't going to hand the nongovernmental institution to another american. so the chances are also good that this is the time they'll go back to an italian. you have three people that are put in high profile positions. one is dealing with issues of culture in the vatican. the other day, a conference about trying to reach out to youth and acknowledged that he played amy winehouse's cd to give an example of what young people are listening to. >> i'm sure we'll take advantage of them again. thank you.

>> thank you. for more on pope benedict's resignation and a photo gallery, log on to our website, wusa9.com. there are shocking new details about the death of an infant girl allegedly at the hands of her 14-year-old brother. they were revealed in the boy's first court appearance today in montgomery county. this whole thing happened late last week on lockwood drive in the white oak section of silver spring. that's where we find scott broom live and scot, we know much of the focus tonight is on the age of the accused killer. other questions are about why his mother left him to watch his baby sister while she worked an overnight job. >> all questions are being looked into. the boy in this case is only an 8th grader. he remains charged today as an adult in the murder of his seven month old sister. we also learned today that the little infant girl's body was covered with insect bites, which makes you wonder what else was going on inside this

apartment. jonathan is a child prosecutor said today was a good student who night after night watched his younger siblings while his mom worked an overnight job. then got up and went to school himself. but early last friday, police were called to this apartment in white oak where they found the 14-year-old boy's seven month old sister dead. jonathan told them he held his hand over her mouth to stop her crying and left her restrained in a car seat. today, pros cue torse revealed the shocking source of injuries on the little girl. >> additionally sad aspect of this, this particular apartment was infested with bugs. and bugs attacked this child after she died. >> today, he was ordered to be held in a juvenile facility while the courts determined whether to prosecute him as an adult in a followup hearing february 22. >> in maryland under law, if you commit offense of first- degree murder, it is mandatory

that you be charged originally as an adult. >> neighbors here said he is too young to send to an adult prison, but was also too young to be left alone to watch little children overnight. >> yeah. very sad. >> i think she should talk about leaving the seven month old with a 14-year-old. >> it's real hard for a young kid like that to be in the house with a younger baby. >> leaving a 14-year-old child would be a hard decision to make, but she had to make some decision and unfortunately, no one thought it would end up like that. >> so, what about the mother in this case? her name is gloria. she has not been charged with any crime. in fact, in maryland anybody at least 13 years old and older is allowed to stay with younger children. so apparently no violation of the law there. we do believe she is the subject, however, of a social services child protective investigation. she is also the mother of a

three-year-old daughter, who is presumably still in her custody. we have not been able to speak with her. reporting live in white oak, wusa9. >> incredible challenges in this case all the way around, scott. we should also mention that although the teen is being charged as an adult, prosecutors are trying to get him moved into the juvenile system. therefore, we here at wusa9 decided not to show his picture at this time. now to another tragic situation, prince georges county detectives passed out fliers as they hunt for a killer in capital heights. mcintyre of chapel oaks drive was found murdered in her home saturday afternoon. officers called to mcintyre's house, discovered her body. police are hoping someone in that neighborhood may have seen something that will help them solve this case. what is it, about a week ago we were rocking the super bowl in hard to imagine baseball season is around the corner, but it is.

kristen berset is here to tell us about an exciting new partership. >> it gets going this week down in vierra for the grapefruit league. the upcoming baseball season with the nationals coming off their best year yet. we here at wusa9 are excited to be in the middle of all of that. we teamed up with mid atlantic sports network to bring our viewers 20 nationals game this season. it all starts with opening day on april 1. the day the nationals division title banner will be raised for the very first time. aside from that, wusa9 with sigh simulcast weekend games. this is a win/win for everybody. >> we have a core viewer and core audience we want to speak to on a full-time basis. baseball works within that, it's a great family event.

it's a great event for people. the nationals are hot. we are really excited to have them on our air. >> you can catch all the excitement of the nationals home opener against miami here on wusa9. we'll bring you live coverage leading up to that game. that's april 1 right here on channel 9. you were at opening day last year and the excitement for that year was immense. >> it was a perfect day. we've got flies. it really is almost spring. all right. thanks, kristen. irregular heartbeat, headaches, dizziness. still ahead, pepco customers tell wusa9 their health problems are being caused by pepco's wireless smart meters. i'm meteorologist, topper shutt. winds are picking up, but clouds on their way out. temperatures in the 50s around the metro area. look at martinsburg, 65 in martinsburg. we'll come back. we're going to turn back toward

winter. we'll talk about a storm over the weekend. >> a $1 million reward brought in a lot of tips. i'm edward lawrence in

the man hunt for an accused cop killer in southern california is in his fifth day. >> police are offering a million dollar reward in this case, but edward lawrence reports christopher dorner is hard to catch. >> 600 tips is come in since the l.a.p.d. offered a $1 million reward for former officer, christopher dorner. >> we have hundreds of detectives and investigators that are working on every clue that is coming in. >> but dorner's nowhere to be found. >> a tip that he was stopped at this store turned up nothing. agents are stopping every car crossing the mexican border and the man hunt east of l.a. has been downsized.

dorner's burned out pickup was found last week, about two dozen officers continue to search homes and cabins. >> they opened all the doors and looked in, you know, places that are person could be. >> investigators have been on dorner's trail since the killing of a police captain's daughter last week. he is also accused of killing a river side officer on thursday. the largest man hunt in l.a.p.d. history has the departments spread thin. thousands of officers are searching for dorner as they try to protect their own. >> dorner vowed to shot police officers and their families as revenge for his firing of the lapd five years ago. >> to have your family targeted because they are related to you, that is absolutely terrifying. >> authorities are providing around the clock protection for 50 officers and their families. edward lawrence for cbs news, los angeles. >> the lapd says the money for that $1 million reward is not just for police organizations, corporations, and private

donors also got involved. mississippi's governor traveled to hattysburg. people grabbed their cameras as that tornado approached. 60 people were hurt. the twister destroyed hundreds of homes, damaged buildings and businesses on the university of southern mississippi campus. but no one died, in part, because tornado sirens sounded with a 30 minute warning before the twister hit. our students get a break for monday and tuesday of mardi gras. the university is empty right now, so that's probably a good thing. >> campus police have declared a state of emergency. they are urging people to stay away from the campus. it's believed that just one tornado caused the destruction across three mississippi counties. >> 15 deaths are being blamed on the big blizzard in new england this weekend. while children in boston were allowed to stay home from school, commuters headed back to work and faced incredible

challenges. connecticut is among the state that experienced historic snow totals. >> 40 inches of snow and this is not a snowstorm, this is a disaster. this is dangerous. >> there's no easy way to get around it unless you have a snowplow. i figured i would put in a few hours. >> there's nowhere to put it, so it's frustrating to stick the snow. >> look at those piles. more than 1,000 people without power in massachusetts and a mix of snow and rain is in the forecast. guys. >> man oh man. mcginty's mail bag at 7:00, we have a lot of people chiming in on whether they are sad or glad that we missed the snow. >> i look forward to that. are there a few in my camp? >> there are. >> i'll take you back to the midwest. they have blizzard conditions over the weekend. anywhere from 4 to 12 inches fell. blizzard conditions is all about wind and visibility. winds have to be over 35 miles per hour and you have to have visibility lez less than a

quarter mile. they are in good shape today, but yesterday and overnight, not so good. live look outside. very nice. this is our live missouri keel and son weather cam. 53 right now. currently it's 49. the dew point is 49. temperatures are not going to get very cold tonight whatsoever. winds are south, southwest at 15. that's a warm wind t. will become northwesterly. a lot of moisture to the south. all of this goes to the south of us overnight and into tomorrow. then another piece of energy takes the place of that and heads our way wednesday night and into thursday. kind of concerned about maybe not clearing out in southern maryland tonight. right now we'll be optimistic. we'll see clearing skies everywhere in the metro area by tomorrow morning. we'll keep you posted on that. dry commute home tonight. that's good. a beautiful tuesday. next storm will be wednesday evening and kind of turn back

to winter, because wednesday night storm could make for some winter precipitation and over the weekend, howard eluded to this over the weekend. we could have something going on saturday or sunday. clearing, breezy, and chilly. low temperatures in the 30s tonight. winds will pick up northwest 10 to 20. nobody gets below freezing tonight. 36 in latensville. 36 in fairfax and springfield. 39 downtown. 38 in college park. and 37 in waldorf. that's a pretty good deal for mid february. mostly sunny, breezy, and chilly. need your sunglasses. and by afternoon, plenty of sunshine. breezy, beautiful, high temperatures low 50s. winds northwest at 10 to 15. next three days, over green tomorrow, we'll do a 9 weather alert yellow because of the evening rain on wednesday, 45. that could go to snow wednesday night, maybe early morning flake on wednesday. even thursday looks good. highs near 50. now the next seven days, gets a

little bit cooler on friday. temperatures go back in the mid 40s and saturday and sunday, just looking at new models. it's all over the place. there is arctic air coming in and moisture. the question is, are they going to converge over the metro area? right now, a chance for snow late saturday. light snow early sunday and cold. temperatures in the low 30s saturday, sunday, and monday. it's going to get cold once again, so we'll see if we get the moisture. the trend is not our friend right now. >> you have two chances for the trend to be your friend. >> yes, we do. >> that's right. thanks, top. still ahead a new study says hundreds and thousands of lives could be saved if americans could cut out some of the salt. up next, don't cross the line, even if you think you stopped in time for that red light. the cameras at one local city may still have you seeing red.

a warning is out to drivers in rockville tonight. triple and mid atlantic says the red light cameras are siting drivers who stop for light, but cross the white line. violators face a $75 fine. the change in the camera equipment and vendor has caused red light cameras to jump 105%

in rockville last year. taking in about $1.3 million. 8600 red light citations were issued in 2011 compared to 1780 in 2012. a nightmare at sea for 4200 carnival cruise ship passengers should soon be coming to an end. the carnival is being towed to port after an engine fire left it dead in the water off the yucatan peninsula yesterday morning. the fire left the ship without propulsion. the cruise ship is expected to arrive on wednesday. three people are dead after a shooting inside a wilmington, delaware, courthouse. a man walked into the courthouse lobby early this morning and opened fire. involving the gunman and his wife. five people were shot. the gunman and his wife are among the dead. two court security guards were wounded, but they are expected to survive.

a large memorial service held today for a former navy seal sniper named chris kyle. thousands gathered to honor the man to be the deadliest sniper. kyle was killed at a texas shooting range this past month. kyle left the navy in 2009 and wrote the best selling book, american sniper. he'll will buried tomorrow, following a 200 mile procession from dallas. president obama awarded a former army staff sergeant the medal of honor. he and 50 u.s. troops came under fire by hundreds of taliban fighters near pakistan's border in 2009. he now lives in north dakota with his wife and three kids. he will also be michelle obama's guest at the state of the union address. a warning about a heart defect. >> might have one and you don't even know it.

pepco's wireless smart meters. some customers say those meters are

irregular heartbeat, that's what several customers say they have been experiencing. after this new wireless meter was installed at their house. >> they are called smart meters and the majority of customers now have them. kristin fisher has been digging into this issue all day and kristen, how could these meters be bad for our health?

>> well, the way these smart meters work is that they communicate with pepco wirelessly, which means they emit radio frequency radiation. the same thing as your cell phone. some customers believe that the radiation is causing some serious health problems. she has been sensitive to radiation than most. she doesn't own a microwave. two weeks ago, pepco installed a smart meter outside her kitchen. >> i have noticed dizziness and i went to my doctor and was informed that i have an irregular heart rate. >> same with her next door neighbor, laura simon. >> i felt my heart rate speed up and i felt charged. >> both women say pepco replaced their meter with a smart meter when they weren't home. >> i didn't like that pepco can show up and change my meter without me knows. since, it's giving off radiation. >> because laura lives in

maryland, she can opt out. she re installed her old meter. they don't have a choice. they are stuck with their smart meters. >> they should not be allowed to put something on our home that radiates our bodies without our permission, period. >> she is with the center for safer wireless. she points to the world health organization, which is classified radiation as arse carcenegenic. pepco says they are safe and better for the environment. >> all scientific evidence says the meters are safe. there aren't any health concerns. while we respect some customers may have concerns, we are eager to continue to educate them on the topic. >> i think it's not fair. we should be able to decide in our own home how much radiation

we have. >> pepco says they received only a few complaints from their customers, but i think this debate is only beginning because lesli, most people don't even know that they have a smart meter. >> you know, with pepco, you could write to them and opt out of this and say hey, i don't want this. they will change your meter. if you are wondering about whether you have one of these meters, let's talk about some of the things to look for. >> all you have to do is look at it. if it has dials like you would see on a watch, that's the older analog meter. they are currently being deployed in california, all over the country, in our area, they are only in d.c. and maryland, but they are currently being tested in virginia. so it's only a matter of time before they are in northern virginia as well. >> people are going to be asking questions and get educated. >> they are and they should. >> kristen, thank you. derek. i have friends that will be concerned about this one. a leading whisky distiller is getting less boozey.

it is watering down its bourbon because basically there's not enough to go around. it is 45% alcohol volume, now down to 42%. critics hit social media sites to complain about the change, but makers say the changes are minimal. plus, watered down bourbon is better than no bourbon. >> all right, derek. in today's health alert, more reason to take away some of the salt. most americans consume a teaspoon every day, twice the daily recommended amount. most of it in processed foods. a study shows half a million lives could be saved over ten years in americans reduce salt intake by 40%. high sodium contributes to high blood pressure, which increases the chances for heart disease and stroke. and in fact, february is heart month. every year, a sea of women in red gather in northwest d.c. for an affair of the heart. about 1200 of us were there for the 65th annual luncheon and

fashion show at the marriott. and while it's a great fundraiser and a whole lot of fun, the message is serious. heart disease is the number one killer of american. at today's event, a team from the mayo clinic talked about research. it is called scad and you are about to meet a woman who survived her heart attack. >> chef rachel has appeared on tv cooking shows and writes a food blog. she's also a heart attack survivor. >> it started to travel very quickly up my throat and into my jaw. >> she was 56 with no history of heart disease. it turned out she had scad. an artery near the heart tears, blocking blood flow in and around the heart, causing a heart attack. the condition is not common, affecting mostly young, healthy women, and is highly under

diagnosed. >> about 70% of the cases are maybe greater are women. of those women, about 30% are in the few weeks to months after giving birth. >> researchers at the mayo clinic started the first major study of the condition. while doctors don't know how to treat it, they do know up to 20% of patients who had one scad episode will have another. >> hormones are a very high level of interest and likely contribute to the cause of scad. we don't understand the mechanism. >> chef took part in the study, hope ing it will lead to answers. inspired her to live life to the fullest. >> these are my mottos for living now. live on the edge and take a wisk. >> she's a chef. the mayo clinic study started because some survivors found each other through social media and push for research to unravel the mystery. 90 women have been enrolled so

far. lesli. >> hope they get some important answers. coming up in tonight's hero central report. how a local organization is saving soldier's lives after they return from the battlefield. the westminster kennel club dog show kicks off today with thousands of canine competitors vying to be top dog. i'm marley hall in new york. that story is coming up. >> don't you love those dogs? we are always on at wusa9.com and our wusa9 app. we'll be

the biggest event of the year for dog lovers begins today. >> the westminster kennel club dog show off and running in new york city. >> marley hall introduces us to some of the breeds competing to be top dog. >> more than 2,000 dogs have in new york city getting the star treatment. >> she's a high maintenance girl. >> these canines want to look their best for the 137th westminster kennel club dog show. >> i have been showing her, waiting for this day to come for five years. >> they are making their debut this year. the coon hound is one of two new breeds in the show. >> they love to be around people, they are lovable. >> 187 breeds and varieties

are competing. fin is a four-year-old from maryland and he already won best of breed. >> he might be anxious with all the people around, but not nervous. they are used to it. >> dogs have come here from several countries, including brazil, and japan. this is violet, after afghan hound from virginia. >> vince lives in pennsylvania. the ridgeback was away from his owner for six weeks training for the show. >> he seems bigger and heavier than you. >> he is. not really, just have to go with it. >> do the best i can. >> jewel is one of the favorites for best in show. her owner says a win would be huge. >> wow. i mean, you'd have to look at the breed and say, that's an american fox hound and you didn't know what it was, did you? >> the dogs and owners find out who gets bragging rights tuesy night. marley hall for cbs news, new york. >> virginia, maryland, pennsylvania, our region is

representing. all right, this is the first year that the show is taking place in two locations. the preliminary competitions appear on manhattan's west side. high fashion, hot music, and backstage gossip. of course we're talking about the grammys. we'll break down

joining me now is nancy from entertainment tonight to talk gram mys. >> i'm a little bit sleepy and five cups of coffee, but other than that, it was fabulous. it was one of the best grammys in history. >> it kept getting better and better. justin timberlake, what do you think was the best performance? >> you are so right about that. i have to say, justin timberlake was my favorite. it was such a classy, retro performance. i love the fact it was done in black and white. i think the production of the grammys was topnotch. the thing people don't know about this. what happened after here on the stage. this was justin's first time performing on the grammys since

2009. he did a concert and released also a new single, mirrors, which people are saying is autobiographical and talking about how she is his mirror and the person he turns to. they are so much alike. they are beautiful songs. a big night for justin timberlake. >> classy, it was great. what about dresses? there was a lot of talk about what the dress code would be this year. jennifer lopez even joked about it. what about dresses? >> jennifer lopez is what everyone was talking about. she assured me it was well secured. i think it looked like it was a body suit to make sure she didn't flash anything. one of my personal favorites was carrie underwood. i thought she looked so classy and beautiful. black was a big color and she did this so well and she topped it off with $31 million

necklace. that's how much that sparkly bling is worth. another person that looked nice is beyonce in a pantsuit, which is unusual. she usually comes down done to the t in a long gown or something. so it was quite different, but black and white is the new spring color for 2013. i think you'll see a lot of it. >> and you know, her thing with ellen degeneres, i loved that moment. we need to know from you, what happened backstage? >> well, there was a lot of things that you find out backstage and on the red carpet that people talk about. you'll be seeing them tonight on entertainment tonight. one of my favorite moments is, part of the grammys, the collaboration. you saw last night, alicia keys collaborating with maroon 5. it was one of the big performances. i was also talking to alicia and at the grammys, she bumped into miranda lambert and she was a huge fan and wanted to do something with her. so they are based on having to

bumped into each other and talking about it. so that was a big moment that happened backstage and you'll see that played out tonight. also a mirror there, that was a lot of fun because they were posing for photos which would go posted on the grammy website worldwide and on twitter and on entertainment tonight. it turned out to be such fun, candid moments where you really get to see the celebrity's personalities and that was a lot of fun, because nicole and i would have the option to redo the picture. it took us four or five takes. nicole and i were okay, but keith was like, i'm laughing. we were like, you're the guy, you should be fine with it. it was fun moments and you'll see all the sleb ties on entertainment tonight. >> and you looked stunning. thanks for joining us, we'll see you tonight on entertainment tonight. >> thanks. >> quite a night. >> it was quite a night. >> and lots of interesting

photos on twitter. >> yeah. well quite a day, too. 54 today. i know it was cloudy and it rained this morning. >> it started weak, but we finished strong. >> it was not a bad day. and generally colder until we get into the weekend. we have a couple more days of decent february weather. let's start with a live look outside. and you know, still the clouds are hanging tough. i'm concerned about that. i think we're going to clear tonight. it may take much of the night to do so. right now, 53 downtown. high was 54. winds are south, southwest at 15. we are not going to clear any time soon. but that will happen. northwest winds will pick up. a lot of moisture and energy along the gulf coast. this is going it stay to our south tonight and tomorrow. another little piece of energy swings through on wednesday. and that will bring us some rain on wednesday. perhaps mix of rain and snow wednesday night. notice the clouds are still hanging tough. some clearing skies back west of i-81, but in the immediate metro area, a lot of clouds.

we were in the 50s today. places like hagerstown and winchester made it into the 50s. dry commute home, beautiful tuesday. next storm will be wednesday afternoon and we are going to turn back to winter, especially over the weekend. so for tonight, clearing, breezy, just chilly. lows in the 30s. winds northwest 10 to 20. i'll show you lows because this is amazing. nobody gets below freezing tonight. 36latensville and fairfax and springfield, only 36. 36 in rockville and bethesda. 37 in bowie. 37 down in waldorf and even out to the west, okay, maybe 35 in leesburg. 35 maybe in middleburg, but 36 in manassas and hay market. now tomorrow morning, breezy and chilly, need your sunglasses and a light jacket. 30s and 40s. by afternoon, nice day. mostly sunny, high temperatures low 50s. winds northwest at 10 to 15. but nothing crazy in terms of wind. a little bit of a breeze.

the next three days, tomorrow is going to be great. sunshine and 51. we're going to go a yellow alert on wednesday with evening rain developing. probably just in time for the morning commute. then that rain could change to snow and briefly on thursday morning, but still, even that we are back near 50 on thursday. next seven days, now temperatures start to go downhill. on friday, fair amount of sunshine, but 44. and saturday and sunday, i'm looking at more models. they are all over the place. coming into the metro area, no doubt about that. the question is, where will the moisture set up? a chance for snow evening tonight on saturday and early sunday. holding in the 30s saturday, sunday, and monday. >> now here's kristen berset at the cadillac sports desk. >> it's hard to ignore how much of an impact just one player has made on the washington wizards success this season. since john wahl returned to the lineup, they have gone 9-7.

more wins than they had in 33 games without him. dave owens caught up with wahl this week and he had plenty to say. >> we are here with john wahl, the man who, boy, i tell you, seems to be making it happen for the washington wizards. sometimes it is difficult to look at your own self, but what do you think you brought to this basketball team since you've been back? >> i think i did -- just reading my team, being a veteran and learning how to read the game. easy shots for my teammates. >> you had a chance to sit on the sidelines and watch this team struggle before you got back. you heard all of the noise, i'm sure, from people who said this team is bad, john wahl, he's not living up to his potential, how much did it motivate you when you heard that stuff? >> i know i have to keep working on my game. >> a spectacular play by john wahl.

>> what's the next step for this team as you slowly work your way into a playoff position. what's the next step for this basketball team? >> we are going to keep playing. can't make the playoffs or you can't. players are getting hurt or trade is going down. you have to keep playing basketball. and give it 110% every time you're out on the court. >> it's hard to help. give me an easy layup. >> i have one last thing for you. i was shooting baskets down there. what do you think? does dave owens have a future? look at the jiggle. look at that. >> yeah, you're left-handed. >> hey, man, can you feed me to rock? >> we'll work on the ten-day. >> thanks a lot, man. that's john wahl, back to you guys in the studio. >> the wizards go for their first four-game win streak

tonight when they visit milwaukee. and before i let you guys go, we have our natitude starting up. partnered with masn and the nationals and we are going to simulcast20 games this season. raise the banner, their first division title ever, so it's going to be an exciting day. we'll be live from there, but spring training starts this week. >> takes us back to the end of last season where we were heartbroken, but hopeful. >> a lot of excitement this year. >> have to watch it right here. >> we're glad to be a part of it. still ahead on wusa9. >> i'm peggy fox where virginia's governor came today to put pressure on senate democrats to pass a transportation plan. and for the first time, he said it doesn't have to be his. this is bruce johnson. coming up, the mayor tours the hotel, but we talked about a

lot of things, including if he'll seek reelection. i'll have that coming up. and right after the break, fighting back against suicide in the military. a very special organization reaching out to

committing suicide at an

alarming rate. get this. more members of the military are taking their own lives and die in combat. in today's hero central, j.c. hayward salutes an organization designed to fight this disturbing trend. >> unconditional love doesn't answer. i don't have to worry. >> a crook got out of the military. he developed post-traumatic stress disorder and wanted to commit suicide. four years ago, he learned about companions for heros. a program that invited him to his best friend, meyer, who gave him a new lease on life. >> i served in the military, but that was a dark side of me that no one could touch. i wouldn't let anyone in. >> but meyer has been able to breakthrough. companions for heros matches animals who face death because they don't have a home with veterans, active military, and first responders. so far, there's been over 140

perfect matches. >> it's the best work i have ever done in my life. because what you are doing is you are saving two lives at once. >> the adoptions are free and the new owner is able to get financial aid and access to a professional dog trainer to make sure the pet's health and behavior are compatible. >> our founder had a wonderful idea from his own experience to pair veterans and shelter pets for mutual healing. it works. >> crook never thought that a four legged animal would mean so much in his life. >> sooner or later, put all the pieces together when i met david. if it will work for him, it will work for me. >> an air force veteran. he spoke to us when the organization was first started. >> there was a time where i wanted to take my own life and she walked in, little puppy that she was, she walked in and licked my face. >> today, meyer not only touches crook's life, but an important part of the entire

family. >> my father hated dogs. he loves mine. my grandson adores him. >> j.c. hayward, wusa9. not get government money. those interested should fill out an online application. go to j. jchayward.com. worried about the investigation. >> i lost that completely after my attorney. >> i have to be honest, i'm as shocked and startled as all of you. >> he will step down february 28. >> there were hundreds of making their way back to their houses when the snow just swallowed them up. >>